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Transcript of Student Employability Guide for Philosophy Saunders
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E m p l o y a b i l i t y
Where next? Unlocking the
potential of your philosophy degree
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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Employability Where next? Unlocking the potential of
your philosophy degree
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This guide is an updated version of the 2007 edition, which was compiled from the 2004 Subject
Centre publication, ‘A Brief Guide to Employability in Philosophy,Theology and Religious Studies’,
written by Julie Gallimore, and research written by Peter Forbes and Bianca Kubler for the
Enhancing Student Employability Coordination Team of the Higher Education Academy (ESECT) and
the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), together with new material developed,
researched, compiled and edited by Danielle Lamb and Julie Closs, for the Subject Centre for
Philosophical and Religious Studies, part of the Higher Education Academy.
Copyright © the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, 2009
First edition published in February 2007
ISBN 978-0-9554513-2-4
All rights reserved. Except for quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review,
and for use in learning and teaching contexts in UK higher and further education, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of
the publisher.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication and the other titles in
the series, neither the publisher, series editor, nor authors are responsible for applications and uses
of the information contained within.The Subject Centre takes no responsibility for the content of
external websites listed in this guide.
Printed and bound in the UK by Information Press Ltd., Oxford.
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Using this employability guide is a way to help you, as a philosophy student, reflect on the skills you
are gaining as you study, and gather evidence of these skills being put into practice. Sometimes, in a
non-vocational course, it can be hard to see how what you learn in the course of your studies willprepare you for your post-university career. Being comfortable with this yourself, and getting it
across to future employers, is vital, particularly in a subject such as philosophy where there are
plenty of popular misconceptions about what the subject actually entails.
Evidence of the skills you possess can also come from work experience and extra-curricular
activities. Reflecting on these skills can help with writing up progress files or personal development
planning, CV writing and job applications. There are lots of general resources available about how
to write a good CV or job application, and how to do well in interviews, and you will find
information about some of these in the ‘Resources’ section at the end. This guide doesn’t attempt
to replace those resources, but rather to get you thinking about the specific skills that doingphilosophy develops in you, and how you can use examples to demonstrate your skills when you
apply for a job or go for an interview.The most important thing that we hope this guide will do is
help you to articulate why you will be a good employee (because of all the skills you’ve developed
by doing philosophy) so that you can get the job you want.
Aim of this guide
1.What makes philosophy graduates employable?
This section encourages you to think about your own employability and lists the skills you candevelop through reading for a philosophy degree.
2.What do employers want from you?
This section lists the skills that employers say they want from employees, giving you some ideas
about what the person reading your application, or sat on the other side of the desk in an
interview, will be looking for.
3. Applying your employability knowledge
This section aims to join the information in the first two sections together, by using real world
job adverts to show how the skills you possess link in to what recruiters ask for, and byproviding some examples of reflective questions for you to use when preparing for interviews.
4. Case studies
This section focuses on two real people who graduated in philosophy some time ago. It looks
at their career paths and how the skills they developed as they studied, and gained work
experience, have helped them in their various roles.
5. Resources
This section aims to give you stepping stones to finding out more about applying for jobs,
improving your employability, and other related topics. There are many useful sources of
information out there, and we hope this guide will inspire you to use your initiative and
imagination to look further and aim higher in your future career.
Contents
4
8
12
21
23
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1.What makes philosophy graduates
employable?
The term ‘employability’, as we are using it here, refers to how the degree you are studying for
prepares you for success in working life. Philosophy graduates are highly employable because
philosophy teaches you how to think for yourself and analyse and communicate ideas in a clear,
rational and well thought out way. Being a philosophy student is less about building a body of
knowledge than about learning how to learn.This is one of the distinctive strengths, and key benefits,
of studying philosophy. Whereas the knowledge learnt in other disciplines may be superseded by
future discoveries or made obsolete by changes of circumstance, the ability to think critically does
not become devalued over time. On the contrary, it is invaluable when new situations occur.
There are plenty of career opportunities for philosophy graduates, but often in roles that bear no
obvious relation to the study of philosophy, so you need to be able to demonstrate sound personal
transferable skills, which employers value.This guide will help you to think about the general skills
you are developing, like the ability to think logically, analyse critically, and communicate articulately
and accurately, both orally and in writing. You’re also learning reasoning skills and the ability to
formulate and address problems creatively.
These are the skills that employers say are desired for management and leadership roles. In an
increasingly global economy, the skills of vision, creativity and analytical power being developed
through the study of philosophy will be at a premium.
Due to the transferable nature of the skills that the study of philosophy develops, the kinds of jobs
that philosophy graduates go on to are extremely diverse. Some areas that employ large numbers
of philosophy graduates are:
• the National Health Service (NHS);
• the civil service;
• other government and public administration bodies;
• teaching;
• sales and advertising;• investment and banking;
• management consultancy;
• law, both solicitors and barristers;
• accountancy;
• the charity or not-for-profit sector;
• Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs);
• publishing;
• journalism;
• recruitment.
Several of these areas include jobs and career pathways that would obviously require further study,
training or qualifications, and you can find more information about this in Section 5.
Introduction to employability
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Articulacy in accurately identifying underlying issues in all
kinds of debate.
Logical thinking and presentation in the analysis and
formulation of complex and controversial problems.
Sensitivity in interpretation of thoughts and ideas drawn
from both history and current trends.
Clarity and rigour in the critical assessment of arguments
presented in such thoughts and ideas.
Ability to use and criticise specialised philosophical
terminology.
Ability to abstract, analyse and construct sound arguments
and to identify logical inconsistency.
Ability to recognise methodological errors, rhetorical
devices, unexamined conventional wisdom, unnoticed
assumptions, vagueness and superficiality.
Ability to move between general and appropriately
detailed discussion, providing examples to support or
challenge a position, and distinguishing relevant and
irrelevant considerations.
General philosophical skills 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
We’ve already touched on some skills that you will be building up,but what can be expected of you,
as a philosophy graduate? What kinds of skills can you expect your degree to develop in you? The
QAA is an independent body that safeguards and helps to improve the academic standards andquality of higher education in the UK. One of its tasks has been to develop a ‘Benchmark Statement’
for each subject, outlining specific skills that students can expect to gain from studying for their
degree, to help measure and maintain the standards of the university education you are being
provided with.This can be helpful for you to look at as it breaks down what you are actually doing
as you read, write or talk about philosophy, in much more detail than you will probably be used to.
Hopefully this will help get you into the frame of mind where you can see how what you do in
university classes can be transferred for use elsewhere. So, taken from the Philosophy Benchmark
Statement, here is a list of the employability skills you are developing as a philosophy student. It is a
long list, but it is aiming to be a definitive guide to the skills you are gaining as you study.
(The full benchmark statement can be found on the QAA website at:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/honours/philosophy.asp)
Employability skills
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Breadth of view
Generic skills
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Ability to consider unfamiliar ideas and ways of thinking,
and to examine pre-suppositions and methods critically
within the discipline itself.
Ability to conduct arguments about matters of the highest
moment without recourse to insult or susceptibility to
take offence.
Willingness to evaluate opposing arguments, to formulate
and consider the best arguments for different views and to
identify the weakest elements of the most persuasive view.
Honesty in recognising the force of the conclusions
warranted by a careful assessment of pertinent arguments.
The ability to work with and in relation to others throughthe presentation of ideas and information and the
collective negotiation of solutions.
Ability to cross traditional subject boundaries, examining
the limitations and virtues of other disciplines and
practices, and recognising philosophical doctrines in
unfamiliar places.
Ability to apply philosophical skills and techniques to issues
arising outside the academy.
Ability to adapt and transfer the critical methods of the
discipline to a variety of working environments.
To listen attentively to complex presentations.
To read carefully a variety of technical and non-technical
material.
Develop the ability to reflect clearly and critically on oral
and written sources, employing powers of imagination as
well as analysis.
To remember relevant material and bring it to mind when
relevant.
To construct convincing arguments in the evaluation of
information.
To present, in both oral and written forms, a clear and
well-structured assessment of relevant considerations.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Engaging in
philosophical debate
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Personal attributes
The study of philosophy fosters the development of a range of personal attributes that are
important in the world of work and that will strengthen the graduate's ability to engage in lifelong
learning, and contribute to the wider community.These include:
Develop skills in Information Technology – word-
processing, email and Internet, information search and
retrieval, using online computer resources to identify and
access relevant information/material.
Ability to comprehend and develop intricate concepts in an
open ended way which involves an understanding of
purpose and consequences.
The ability to understand, interrogate and apply a variety of
theoretical positions and weigh the importance of
alternative perspectives.
The ability to handle information and argument in a critical
and self reflective manner.
Self motivation.
Ability to work autonomously.
Time and priority management skills.
Developing a flexible and adaptable mind to face new
situations and manage change.
Ability to think creatively, self-critically and independently.
29.
30.
31.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
7
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Analysis
Attention to detail
Judgement
Planning and organising
Relates and compares data from different sources, identifying
issues, securing relevant information and identifying
relationships.
Accomplishes tasks through a concern for all areas involved, no
matter how small.
Determines the most appropriate course of action and draws
conclusions that are based on logical assumptions that reflect
factual information.
Establishes a course of action for self and/or others to
accomplish a specific goal.Plans proper assignments of personnel
and appropriate allocation of resources.
2.What do employers want from you?
Desired employee attributes and skills
To help you see things from the perspective of an employer, we have provided a list of the qualitiestypically sought by employers, with their definitions.These were identified by employer members of
the Policy Forum of the Council for Industry and Higher Education (the CIHE is a council of leading
people from a wide range of businesses, universities and colleges). The employers on the CIHE
believe that these skills are the key components observed in individuals who can transform
organisations and add value early in their careers.The skills listed below are ones that employers
say they want from all employees, and we have added more detail to help you think about how to
demonstrate that your philosophy degree has developed these skills in you.
Generic competenciesHigh-level and transferable key skills such as the ability to work with others in a team, communicate,
persuade and have interpersonal sensitivity.
Looking at the Benchmark Skills, as well as the general philosophical and generic ones, the skills to
do with ‘engaging in philosophical debate’ and ‘breadth of view’ are particularly pertinent here.
Sometimes in philosophy it might seem hard to see where skills such as teamwork or interpersonal
sensitivity can be demonstrated, but looking again, perhaps skill 10,‘the ability to conduct arguments
about matters of the highest moment without recourse to insult or susceptibility to take offence’,or 13, ‘the ability to work with and in relation to others through the presentation of ideas and
Cognitive skills/brainpower
The ability to identify and solve problems, work with information and handle a mass of diverse data,assess risk and draw conclusions.
Although this could fall under the heading of ‘generic skills’ (those that may be covered during the
course of study of any degree) note that the ‘General philosophical skills’ in Section 1 tie in with
this particularly well, especially ones such as analysis and judgment, meaning that you, as a
philosophy student, have a particular advantage here.
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Influences others by expressing self effectively in a group and in
one to one situations.
Recognises and respects different perspectives and appreciates
the benefits of being open to the ideas and views of others.
Shows by a range of verbal and non-verbal signals that the
information being received is understood.
Uses an appropriate approach to questioning in order to gain
information from which to draw conclusions and/or assist in the
making of decisions.
Expresses ideas effectively and conveys information
appropriately and accurately.
Influencing
Interpersonal sensitivity
Listening
Questioning
Written communication
information and the collective negotiation of solutions’ could be relevant. In studying for your
philosophy degree you will be familiar with discussing difficult topics with others and developing
your ideas through this discussion. Also, remember that there are ways that your course can
demonstrate these skills apart from purely what goes on when you study. If you set up a study group
to discuss your work, or attend or help run a philosophical society, these are things you could use
to demonstrate such competencies.
Personal capabilitiesThe ability and desire to learn for oneself and improve one’s self awareness and performance.To be a self
starter (creativity, decisiveness, initiative) and to finish the job (flexibility, adaptability, tolerance to stress).
One of philosophy’s particular strengths, as a subject, is that rather than just imparting a body of
knowledge, it teaches you how to learn.To succeed in philosophy you need to be able to think for
yourself and have the intellectual courage and creativity to develop your own viewpoints.You are
also developing skills such as being able to see the wider framework that particular arguments work
within, and using opposition to your arguments as a tool to refine them and take them further.
Achievement orientation
Adaptability/flexibility
Creativity
Decisiveness
Initiative
Leadership
Maintains and inspires a results-driven approach, focuses on
results and critical performance indicators.
Maintains effectiveness in a changing environment.
Generates and/or recognises how best practice and imaginative
ideas can be applied to different situations.
Makes decisions and takes action.
Identifies opportunities and is pro-active in putting forward ideas
and potential solutions.
Takes responsibility for the directions and actions of a team.
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Life long learning and
development
Organisational sensitivity
Personal development
Teamwork/working with
others
Tolerance for stress
Develops the skills and competencies of self, peers and
colleagues through learning and development activities related to
current and future roles.
Is sensitive to the effect of his or her actions on other parts of
the organisation and adopts a mature,direct and up front style in
dealing with conflict.
Maintains an up to date personal development plan and takes
action to ensure personal development takes place.
Builds and develops appropriate relationships with academic
staff, peers, colleagues, customers and suppliers at all levels
within an organisation.
Maintains performance under pressure and/or opposition.
Technical abilityFor example, having the knowledge and experience of working with relevant modern laboratory equipment.
While you may not think that philosophy imparts any particular technical knowledge, your use of IT
to research and write, and the other skills you may learn such as using email to network,or project
management software to help you plan larger projects, are invaluable here. Don’t underestimate the
value of such technical knowledge – use your time at university to develop these skills and always
make them explicit when applying for jobs.
Technical application
Technical knowledge
Has experience of using modern technology.
Develops and maintains a body of knowledge of key trends in
technology.
Business and/or organisation awareness An appreciation of how businesses operate through having had (preferably relevant) work experience.
Although this set of skills seems to be purely related to work experience, as a philosophy student
you are very well equipped to build up this type of knowledge.When you apply for a job, spend time
using your research skills to build up an understanding of the organisation you want to work within,
and how your role will interact with the business processes. And of course, if you know what
particular line of work you want to go into after your degree, setting up some work experience or
summer or part time work in the relevant area will be invaluable.
Understands the economics of the business. Understands the
business benefits and commercial realities from both the
organisation’s and the customer’s perspectives.
Understands basic financial terminology used in organisations
and is able to construct and maintain simple financial records.
Commercial awareness
Financial awareness
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Organisation understanding
Process operation
Understands the organisation’s work environment, internal
politics, business objectives and strategy.
Begins, controls and concludes a complete process or
procedure.
Practical elements – vocational coursesCritical evaluation of the outcomes of professional practice; reflect and review own practice; participate in
and review quality control processes and risk management.
Again, while it might be difficult at first to see how you can demonstrate this within the context of
your philosophy studies, the robust nature of philosophical debate should give you the confidence
to interact at all levels. Go to conferences or philosophy society meetings and gain experience of
talking to people at a higher level in the same business (learning about and contributing to
philosophy) as you. If you decide that you want to do a particular vocational course, your ability to
assimilate knowledge and understand processes will stand you in good stead.
Presents a strong, professional, positive image to others at all
times. This image is consistent with all people (colleagues,
management and peers, customers etc.).
Keeps up to date with developments in own areas of
professional specialisation. Applies a breadth and/or depth of
professional knowledge.
Image
Professional expertise
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Two of the main activities involved in acquiring a job are writing applications and attending
interviews. Below, we look at some real job adverts and selection criteria used by employers, and
suggest some reflective questions that you can ask yourself when preparing for interviews.We havelooked at the extent to which they match up with the skills highlighted in Section 1, and this should
help you to get a better idea of how to link up what you can do with what employers are asking
for.
Job advertsThe criteria taken from the job specification or description are shown in the box in the centre. In
the boxes round the outside, we have annotated the criteria with examples of the way in which a
philosophy student might demonstrate how their skills satisfy the criteria, and which skills from the
Benchmark statement in Section 1 are relevant for each point (shown in numbers in brackets after
the text).You could try doing this yourself with job adverts and selection criteria you’re interestedin.
Example 1: the law firm
These criteria are given by a leading law firm as the qualities and skills they want in a graduate
trainee. As you can see, this employer is looking for very similar skills to those listed in Section 2.
For example, cognitive skills such as analysis and judgement, personal capabilities such as creativity
and teamwork, and technical abilities in the use of IT.
3.Applying your employability knowledge
Bright – Generally we look for a 2:1 at
degree level. You need a sharp mind,
the ability to tackle complex legal
and business issues and take a
commercial view.
Articulate – Building relationships
with clients is a vital part of the modern
lawyer's daily workload. We look for
confident, outgoing team players
who can get on well with clients, win
their trust and keep their business.
Inquisitive and adaptable – The legal
field is always changing – with new
statutes to apply, new issues to address
and new ways of doing business – so a
naturally inquiring mind is a great
asset.You'll need to relish the fact thatyou'll never stop training, learning
or adapting.
Tackling complexissues is one of the
things you do every time
you read or write or
discuss philosophy, and
this sharpens your
mind. (2, 24)
Regularly putting
forward opinions toback up your arguments
in tutorials develops
confidence and the
ability to work with
others in coming to a
mutually acceptable
conclusion. (13)
An inquiringmind is one of the
core requirements of
any philosophy student,
and a quality that is
developed throughout
a philosophy degree by
reading philosophical
texts, writing essays
and discussing issues in
class. (9)
A key featureof philosophy is
that it teaches you
how to think and
how to learn, and
that you constantly
adapt your
opinions to take
account of new
arguments and
evidence. (15, 16)
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Creative and practical –
Interpreting complex law and
developing solutions to demanding
commercial briefs takes a great deal of
processing power, coupled with a
creative, analytical and pragmatic
approach.
Common sense – Invaluable when it
comes to developing workable legal
solutions which deliver practical
business benefit for clients.
Sense of humour – The law is a
demanding occupation, so the ability to
take a philosophical stance is a
valuable quality.
IT literate – Computers form the
backbone of our organisation in
managing casework, research and
communicating with clients, so you
should be comfortable using office
packages and the Internet.
Previous work experience – We
don't just take on new graduates in theirearly twenties. People from many
professions convert to the law with us
and find their previous experience a real
asset.
Criticalanalysis is
another key
aspect of doing
philosophy,
particularly when
writing essays.
Similarly,
creativity in
coming up with
new arguments is
very important.
(2, 4, 6, 9, 16, 19)
Interpretation of primary source
philosophical texts and arguments is
something the philosophy student does on a
regular basis. (3)
As a philosopher,
you are used tolooking at problems
from a variety of
angles, and coming
up with ideas which
take account of as
many eventualities
and practicalities as
possible, making it
likely that you will
be very good at
delivering
workable and
beneficial
solutions.
Taking aphilosophical
stance
shouldn’t be a
problem for
you! In
discussing
philosophy,
you learn to
be robust and
not takecriticism
personally.
(10)
Writing essays
using Microsoft Word
or other wordprocessing packages,
and using the
Internet to research
different ideas or
contribute to wikis
etc. develops your IT
skills.Always make sure
you make these skills
explicit when applying
for jobs. (23)
Always remember that skills you have
picked up outside the classroom, from for
example work experience, social activities,
volunteering and part-time jobs, are often
equally valued by employers.
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Respecting the views of others, understanding whypeople have different beliefs, and seeing how these can be
reconciled develops a healthy respect for diversity.(3,10)
Example 2: the Teach First programme
These criteria are given on the Teach First website as skills they are particularly interested in. Again,
you can see that this programme requires very similar skills to the ones given in Section 2; generic
competencies such as communication and interpersonal sensitivity (in the form of humility, respectand empathy), and personal capabilities such as creativity, initiative, leadership and teamwork.
To be a successful candidate on the
Teach First programme you will be an
accomplished communicator with
proven leadership abilities; someone
who is clearly able to demonstrate
initiative, creativity and
resourcefulness in challenging
situations. You will be able to show
strong levels of self-awareness,
understand the consequences of
your actions and be able to
evaluate your impact on the
outcome of a situation. You will be
the kind of person who does not shy
away from your responsibilities and have
the resilience to see things through to
completion. It goes without saying that
Teach First is not for the faint hearted.
Any application to the Teach First
programme and any subsequentinterviews will be assessed against the
following criteria:
Communication skills
Humility, respect and empathy
Putting your points across in class
discussions, and in essays means that
philosophy students are excellent
communicators. (21, 22)
Regularly putting forward opinions
to back up your arguments in tutorials
develops confidence and the ability
to work with others in coming to a
mutually acceptable conclusion. (13)
The kind of
rational, logical
thinking that
philosophy encourages,
along with the
creativity required to
imagine things fromother perspectives,
means that philosophy
students are well
placed to follow
through from actions
to consequences. (6, 7,
24)
Contemplating
your own beliefs
and why you
hold them is
central to
philosophy, and
so develops your
self-awareness.
(10, 26)
Through writing
and discussing
philosophy, students
develop highly
sophisticated written
and verbal
communication
skills.
Holding out
for a position
that you strongly
believe in
develops the
kind of
resilience muchsought after in
the business
world. (1)
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Leading
discussion, and,
as above, starting
study groups and
societies, shows
how philosophy
can develop
leadership skills.
(13)
As shown above, philosophers
are independent-minded and
creative. (31)
Initiative and creativity
Leadership
Personal responsibility
Problem solving
Resilience
Self evaluation
Teamwork
As with other
degrees, taking
responsibility for
doing the reading,
contributing to
discussions, and
writing essays is
vitally important inorder to get the
most out of your
philosophy degree.
(28)
Philosophy is all
about problem
solving; in
particular,
developingarguments for or
against a
position
demonstrates this
skill. (2)
As shown earlier,
philosophy graduates tend
to have developed a greatdeal of emotional and
intellectual resilience, in
order to maintain their
own position in the face of
disagreement from others.
(10)
Working with others in small groups to
think through philosophical positions, and
perhaps to present them to the rest of the
class, is a good example of teamwork. (13)
The ability to
evaluate your own
arguments, and to
follow through a line of
reasoning, even if it
goes against your own
instincts, means that
philosophy students
develop excellent
evaluative skills. (11,
12)
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Excellent interpersonal and
influencing skills
Self reliant with ability to work
under pressure with minimal
supervision
Ability to identify need; prioritise
workloads; set achievable targets;
evaluate progress; and to meet
deadlines
Commitment to own training
(CPD) and development
Experience in building
partnerships and working
collaboratively with a wide range
of colleagues
Strong negotiating skills, including
an ability to negotiate and
convince others effectively
Example 3: best of the rest
In addition to the full sets of criteria above,we have compiled a collection of frequently used criteria
that appear in a lot of job adverts and graduate training schemes. Each individual point is one that
appears in an actual person specification, although we have drawn them from several differentsources.
This is a
fundamental part
of writing essays
and discussing
philosophy. (11,
12, 13, 21, 22)
Having to evaluate
different points of
view, and trying to
convince others of
yours, is a core
activity in philosophy,
meaning
interpersonal and
influencing skills
are practised
regularly. (10, 11, 12,
15)
All successful graduates can prove that
they can work under pressure and organise
their own time, but as a philosophy student
you may have had fewer contact hours and a
less structured timetable than in other
subjects, and you can use this to
demonstrate your self-reliance. (28, 29)
The fact you’re
reading this indicatesthat you are interested
in developing
yourself! It is worth
keeping a record of
the skillset you are
building up. (27)
The ability to
prioritise your
workload is a
skill that all
students should
develop.
Regularly
meeting essaydeadlines will
be part of your
degree
experience. (27)
Working with
others (who may
have very differentopinions) in
seminars to
present one side of
an argument
develops these
kind of
collaborative
working skills. (9,
10, 11, 13)
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Being able to
accurately
articulate
arguments and
viewpoints is
essential in
writing and
discussing
philosophy, and
attention to
detail is needed
when reading a
complex text. (1,
2)
These skills form the basis
of philosophy!Setting up study
groups, orparticipating in a
philosophy or
debating society can
be used to show
these skills. (15, 16)
Planning the
content of essays,organising your
thoughts into a
coherent structure,
and planning your
workload are just a
few of the things that
will develop these
skills. (6, 7)
Analytic and strategic thinker and
problem solver
Pro-active and self-motivated
High level of accuracy and
attention to detail
Good planning and organisational
skills
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Can you tell
me about a
time when you
had to plan a piece of
work, and how you
went about that?
If you wrote a dissertation this would be a good example of
your planning skills, but essay-writing or even exam preparation
could be used here as well. As a philosophy student you will be
particularly adept at organising your thoughts into a coherent
structure and communicating this to others.
InterviewsOnce you have applied for a job you will (hopefully) be asked to attend an interview. There are many
resources already available about interview preparation, and you can find further information about
these in Section 5. However, the activity of doing philosophy instils an aptitude for self-reflection
that can be particularly helpful when thinking about interview situations.
Here are some sample questions and suggested responses that relate to the kinds of skills and
attributes that you are developing by studying philosophy, and that employers say they look for. We
have not listed questions for every quality mentioned by employers in Section 2, but you can
practice by applying the same kind of thinking to the other areas. The questions are necessarily
broad, and, as with the example job criteria, are aimed at getting you to think about the kinds of
responses you can give, taking into account the skills your degree is developing in you. The numbers
in brackets below refer to the numbered benchmark skills in Section 1.
Cognitive skills/brainpower
Planning and organising (6, 7)
?
Generic competencies
Influencing (10, 11, 12, 15, 21)
Can you
describe a time
when you have
had to persuade
someone to changetheir opinion?
?It should be easy to think of examples of when you have tried
to persuade people to change their opinions; in tutorials and
seminars you will have discussed topics that brought a variety of
views, and you will frequently have been asked to defend your
own, or even those of someone else, in order to persuadeothers to agree with you.
What do you
do when you
are right and
others disagree with
you?
?This kind of question gives you an opportunity to demonstrate
that you are capable of being persuasive and assertive without
coming across as dogmatic or inflexible. The discussion of
philosophy in seminars will have given you lots of practice at
remaining calm in the face of disagreement and coming up with
a variety of points to support your claims, as well as probably
having sometimes to agree to differ gracefully.
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At some point in your degree it is likely that you will have given
a presentation to your fellow students and tutor/lecturer, but
even if you haven’t been required to do so on a formal level youwill still have experience of presenting your thoughts to others
in seminars and tutorials, and you can emphasise the confidence
you have gained from doing so.
Describe a
presentation
you have given.What were you proud
of/what would you do
differently?
?
Communication (8, 22)
Personal capabilities
Teamwork (10, 13)
Working in small groups with others in order to come up with
a coherent argument to present to the rest of the class could be
one example you use here. Alternatively, if you have helped to
set up or run a study group or society you could use this
experience to demonstrate how you can work well with others.
Describe a
team that you
have worked in
– what was your
contribution?
?
Give me anexample when
you have
worked in a team and
had to persuade the
group of your
argument. Can you tell
me what you did and
what you learnt?
?As above, there should be plenty of examples you can give of working in groups and using the kind of rational, logical thinking
that philosophy encourages to convince others of your point of
view. Reflect on the times that you feel such exchanges went
well, and see if you can draw out some points that could be
applied generally.
Leadership (13)
Can you tell
me about a
time when you
had to take on a
leadership role?
?Hopefully you will have lead discussions in your classes, and you
can use these instances to demonstrate skills such as drawing
out others’ opinions, ensuring that everyone got to contribute,
making sure that the discussion stayed on topic, and that you
came to a mutually acceptable conclusion.
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Technical ability
Technical application (23)
Which
software
packages are
you familiar with?
?As part of your degree you will almost certainly have had to
submit essays or coursework in printed form, and so are likely to
be familiar with word processing software such as Microsoft
Word. You may also have used PowerPoint to give presentations,
and various different Internet browsers. Anything you have
gained experience with during paid or voluntary work is also
worth mentioning, as is the fact that the logic skills built up in the
study of philosophy make you an adept learner of computer
programmes.
Business and/or organisation awareness
Organisation understanding (16)
Why did you
decide to apply
to us for a
position, and what do
you expect to gain
from working here?
?Before the interview you should use the research skills you have
developed during your studies in order to find out as much as
possible about the organisation you want to work for, and the
role you have applied for. Think in advance about how you can
show that the skills you have, and the values you hold, match
those required by the organisation you want to work for.
Practical elements – vocational courses
Image
This area is not one that is likely to come up in interview questions, but it is certainly something to
be considered when preparing for interviews.Think about your appearance (i.e. dress smartly, make
sure you are clean and tidy, arrive in plenty of time to avoid appearing flustered, etc.) so that you
create the best possible impression. Again, you can find more information about pre-interviewpreparation in the further resources listed in Section 5.
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4. Case StudiesReal life examples of philosophy graduates’ experienceThese case studies are designed to get you thinking about where your degree might take you, not
just for your first job but on into your future career.
They give you a snapshot of two philosophy graduates’ experiences during and after university, and
show how careers can develop after leaving university, and how the skills and attitudes you develop
whilst studying can continue to stand you in good stead long after graduation.
Elisabeth – BA (Hons) Philosophy, Hull University, 1985-1988“Studying philosophy has allowed me to consider the bigger picture on all issues and to understand
there are always opposite opinions and there are no absolute truths in life. The notion that there
is always a deeper level to issues that may seem simple has given me strong investigative andproblem solving skills in the workplace.
To me as a person the subject has been really useful as it’s helped me understand myself and others.
I would describe myself as ‘philosophical’ and am constantly using my ability to constructively
challenge others’ thinking and beliefs.As a philosopher I am aware that people have their own belief
systems and I am happy to debate others’ belief systems in the workplace to challenge processes
and develop new ways of doing things.”
Graduate programme at
Commercial Union
Regional Office Manager
for the Criminal
Intelligence Service
Founder and Director of a
Complementary Health
Centre
Research Associate for the
University of Birmingham
Current job roles
“This allowed me to develop my employability and recognise my
strengths, particularly in regard to managing others and planning.
In this job I managed a team of over thirty staff. Here the
problem solving skills I developed studying philosophy helped me
support my team through times of change and in stressful
situations.
Delivering training in stress management skills opened the door
for me to think about training for a career in alternative
therapies. For two years I combined studying with work and
qualified as an alternative therapist.
I then set up my own business and managed it very profitably for
four years. Studying philosophy gave me a great deal of self belief,
which drove me during this time. I prepared financial plans,
marketed my business and recruited staff.
From my previous work, I was recruited to be a research
associate. Whilst researching the benefits of hypnotherapy on
patients with particular health issues I gained an M.Phil.
For the past four years I have combined two roles that utilise
different sets of skills. This gives me more variety, as I am easily
bored, and more flexibility to use a broader range of my abilities.
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Project Development
Officer for Walsall
Hospice Appeal
Private Practice
Hypnotherapist
Reflections on my career
path
I work for Walsall Primary Care Trust fundraising for a hospice
development.
This involves seeing clients one to one and supporting them as
they make changes in their lives related for example to health or
personal relationships.
I have enjoyed the flexibility that my career path has offered. I left
my philosophy course with a strong sense of the need to be
flexible and take risks.All my work experience has been useful
and helped me develop a good understanding of people in
different working environments and organisational cultures. I
plan to continue progressing and changing within my career. I see
the career choices I have made as part of a continual process of
learning and growing in self awareness, and my own personaldevelopment is firmly at the top of my agenda.”
James – BA (Hons) Philosophy, University of Wales, Lampeter,
1990-1994“The ability to reason, question and learn is probably the most important skill required in a job
market that is always growing and changing. For every career that can be defined and a vocational
course built around it there are many that simply rely on individual aptitude and the ability to create.
It is here that I think philosophy though maligned in the past really shines.”
Diagnostics Technician in
NTL Telecommunications
Capacity Planner and
Controller in NTL
Telecommunications
“I suppose the old chestnut ‘Learning how to think not what to
think’ really sums it up. The ability to think laterally and find
alternative solutions to problems, the ability to empathise with
the positions of others and find the best overall course of action,
and the ability to plan in a structured way and separate the
relevant from the irrelevant, have all come in useful in my career.
When I graduated I was looking for a job that would use my
creative ideas and logic skills. The ability to logically evaluate a
problem helped me diagnose the cause of new problems. I wasalso able to build structured and intuitive resources for others to
learn from.
In demand planning I had to identify processes and then model
their behaviour to perform forecasts. This meant being able to
interview people and get all aspects of their part of the puzzle,
understand the system processes and ultimately model the entire
thing to generate plans of action. I can only attribute my ability to
do this to the skills of structured thought, logic and discussion I
gained from my degree. There were several instances wheresimply by challenging existing working practices, huge
improvements were made.
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Senior Analyst in NTL
Telecommunications
Current role: Strategic
Implementation Manager
in NTL
Telecommunications
Reflecting on my career path
In my work as a Senior Analyst the real benefit of having studied
philosophy was that I had the skills to evaluate business
practices, identify the moments of truth within those practices
and then define and implement the measurements that reflected
true evaluation of performance whilst giving a sense of
ownership to individual areas of that business practice. Central
to this is the understanding and application of positive and
normative analysis,phrases stolen by economics but with a good
healthy philosophical ancestry.
This role covers the scoping, design, implementation and review
of business analysis strategy.A large part of my current job is to
provide IT solutions for large complex businesses. This is a
problem solving role on a big scale and often involves helping
businesses to make huge cost savings.
I don’t see my role now as particularly technical – more a case
of understanding models, structures and concepts and coming up
with creative solutions. Combining business thinking with
technical sense involves interviewing clients to understand both
their business needs and technical problems.Then it’s up to me
to put my creative thinking to the test and come up with
solutions that aim to improve business performance and
profitability.
I have spent the last eight years in Telecoms, and I still enjoyapplying my ability to think laterally and find alternative solutions
to both business and technical problems.
I really believe that philosophy graduates have something distinct
and valuable to bring to the workplace. I think they represent the
ideal candidates for new developments and markets where there
is little precedence, let alone vocational training.”
5. ResourcesExtra resources on the PRS website
We hope that you have found the information in this guide a helpful way to start thinking about
employability. There are additional resources available on our website, at http://prs.heacademy.
ac.uk/projects/employability, that expand on some of the areas covered, including reflective
questions to help you think about ways to demonstrate that your skills match the qualities
employers are looking for, and a report on a project commissioned by the Subject Centre on self-
employability in TRS.
One of the fastest growing areas of interest in many organisations is that of Corporate Social
Responsibility, or CSR. This covers topics as diverse as sustainability and ‘green’ issues, awareness
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of cultural and religious diversity, and business ethics, all of which you, as a philosophy student, will
be well equipped to think about. In particular, issues around ethics and values in general are ones
that you will have encountered frequently during your studies. The Subject Centre for PRS ran a
project about CSR in 2008, and the resources that came out of it, including case studies and a
literature review, are available here: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/eee/index.html
Other resourcesHere are some other sources of careers information that may be relevant as you make the transition
from university to work, further study or other developmental opportunities.This information
represents a starting point and we would strongly advise you to visit your own university Careers
Service, which will have many additional sources of information and advice.
Prospects
Milkround
Association of Graduate
Careers Advisory Services
(AGCAS)
Association of Graduate
Recruiters (AGR)
National Council for Work
Experience
This is described as the official graduate website and has a lot of
useful information linked to job vacancies, postgraduate study
and information on what graduates go on to do. There are alsolots of useful resources on how to write your CV, tips for filling
in job applications, and advice about interview techniques in the
‘Jobs and Work’ section of the site.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk
This is a graduate careers portal for students and graduates,
listing jobs on the site, and emailing relevant opportunities
directly to those who sign up. It also has a useful ‘News and
Advice’ section, containing profiles of different types of jobs,
advice about job applications, covering letters, CV writing,psychometric testing, interviews etc., and interesting profiles of
recent graduates now working for different companies.
http://www.milkround.com/
The professional association of careers staff working in the
sector. The site gives an insight into the work of AGCAS and its
careers information products including books, videos and useful
web links. There are several useful resources in the ‘Resources’
section of the site.
http://www.agcas.org.uk
The AGR is an independent,not-for-profit organisation dedicated
to supporting employers in all aspects of graduate recruitment.
They produce research surveys on graduate salaries, skills and
other labour market information.
http://www.agr.org.uk
This site offers excellent links to schemes offering work
experience, placement and year out opportunities. The ‘Case
Studies’ section contains useful information from both the
employer and student perspective.http://www.work-experience.org